Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Matthew 13:30 “Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.” In order to understand this parable fully, it is helpful to know the kind of weeds Jesus was referring to. They were called bearded darnel which, in the early stages of their growth, look exactly like wheat. As they...

Matthew 13:23 [Jesus said,] “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” The parable of the sower mixes realism with huge encouragement. It confronts us with the fact that, when the word of God is spoken, there is a wide range of reactions. Some people just do...

Matthew 13:20-21 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. Today, farmers sow seed with great precision and very little is wasted, but in Jesus’ time it was a much more haphazard process. Ski...

Matthew 12:49-50 [Jesus] pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” We know very little about Jesus’ family. On this occasion we hear that they had come to see him and wanted to speak with him. By this time, it seems that Joseph was dead and so Mary came with Jesus’ brothers and s...

Matthew 12:36-37 [Jesus said,] “I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” Mother Teresa said: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” How true! I am sure we can all think of kind words that have been said to us over the years. The words might have only t...

Matthew 12:35 [Jesus said,] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” Jesus’ teaching couldn’t be clearer. Our words and actions flow from what’s going on in our hearts. That means we all need to focus our attention on our hearts to ensure that there is a constant supply of goodness to feed th...

Matthew 12:31 [Jesus said,] “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.” Some years ago, I went to visit a woman who was absolutely convinced that she had committed the unforgivable sin. She was devastated by this and in a state of great distress. Having listened to her carefully for a while it was clear to me that...

Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you…For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” The ‘yoke of the law’ was an expression that the rabbis in Jesus’ day often used. Everyone would have been familiar with the sight of two animals pulling a heavy load, firmly attached to one ano...

Matthew 11:25-26 Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” I seem to have spent my life surrounded by children. When I was nine years old my mother gave birth to twin girls – much to her surprise! From then...

Matthew 10:38-39 Jesus said, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” These statements take us to the heart of Jesus’ ministry. Our society assumes that we find life by acquiring more and more things. But Jesus turned that thinking on its head and declar...

Matthew 10:29-31 [Jesus said:] “What is the price of two sparrows – one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Jesus had just been spelling out what life was going to be like for his disciples. He made it clear tha...

Matthew 10:16 [Jesus said:] “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” When I lived in India, I got used to snakes being a constant threat. Every few months we would hear about deaths caused by snakes in our area, and they understandably generated a good deal of fear. When you live in the presence of snakes, you quickly come to respect thei...

Matthew 10:8 [Jesus said:] “Give as freely as you have received!” Everything we have ever received has been a gift. Look at your family, home, car, job, friends, education, talents, opportunities – and your very breath – they are all a gift. We like to point to our hard work and effort and suggest that we deserve many of the things that we have, but the truth is that even our ability to work hard...

Matthew 9:37-38 [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” This is a fascinating statement from Jesus. He was seeing a huge reaction to his ministry with crowds of people responding to both his teaching and his healing. The harvest was clearly enormous, and so he...

Matthew 9:17 Jesus said, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.” Glass bottles did exist in Jesus’ day, but it was usual for wine to be stored in skins. When new wine is stored, it is still fermenting and so it is essential that the skin has a...

Matthew 9:13 Jesus said, “For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Jesus’ ministry was a continual shock to the Pharisees. They were anxious to obey the Jewish law to the letter, so this governed every aspect of their lives. Tragically, many of them missed the whole point of why they should follow the law. They thought that they were rig...

Matthew 9:9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. There are moments in all our lives that act like hinges. In themselves they are small but when we look back on life, they changed everything. I think of the moment in Israel when I met a 19-year-old student i...

Matthew 9:2 Some people brought to him a paralysed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralysed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” On the face of it, the needs of this man were absolutely clear. He was paralysed and needed Jesus to heal him. But Jesus started somewhere else. He knew that the man’s first need was for forgiveness. He then turned his attention to...

Matthew 8:33-34 The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone. Jesus’ healing ministry triggered a complete range of reactions. Many people understandably responded with joy and relief, but in the town in our reading it was completely different. Jesus...

Matthew 8:26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. The Sea of Galilee is not large. It is about 13 miles from north to south and only about eight miles at its widest point from east to west. Its location in the Jordan Rift Valley means that winds can quickly build up, and there are many a...

Matthew 8:19-20 Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” I’ve heard some speakers talk about the Christian life as if it was a life of peace and happiness characterised by sunshine and blue skies. Jesus never spoke...

Matthew 8:8 The officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” The officer in question was a Roman Centurion. He was a powerful person in the army that was occupying Israel at the time and was, therefore, much hated by the population who longed to be set free. However, it’s difficult not to warm towards this...

Exodus 18:24-25 Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, paid him a visit in the desert and was thrilled to hear about the amazing way in which God had brought the Israe...

Exodus 16:29 They must realise that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day. It was vital that the weekly rhythm of life was maintained in the desert. On the face of it, this was going to be difficult...

Exodus 16:19-20 Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them. The rule couldn’t have been simpler. The bread or manna that God gave to his people every morning would sustain them for the day ahead, but it couldn’t be kept over...